Gebaly: Egypt will not compromise on its water security

Counselor Dr. Hanafi Gebaly, Speaker of the House of Representatives, said during the opening session of the House of Representatives today: "Egypt has sought during the negotiations that took place over the past years to reach a fair and just agreement on the Renaissance Dam, but Ethiopia has thwarted all efforts and endeavors made to resolve this crisis, and the best evidence of this is the recent statements of the Ethiopian Prime Minister about the fifth phase of filling the "Renaissance Dam" by holding back a quantity of Blue Nile water this year, and completing the construction of the concrete structure of the Ethiopian dam.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives continued, during the opening session of the fifth regular session of the second legislative term: "While the Egyptian House of Representatives affirms its absolute rejection of these unilateral Ethiopian policies that violate the rules and principles of international law, which oblige Ethiopia, as the upstream country, not to harm the rights of downstream countries.

He also stressed that the Egyptian state will not tolerate any infringement on its rights or water security or any threat to the capabilities of the Egyptian people, for whom the Nile River is the only lifeline.